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Biography

Don Blandin is president and CEO of the Investor Protection Trust (IPT), a non-profit organization devoted to investor education, and the Investor Protection Institute (IPI), a non-profit organization that advances investor protection by conducting and supporting unbiased research and groundbreaking education programs. Mr. Blandin works frequently with State Securities Regulators on programs to help Americans of all ages become wise and safe investors. He has worked in and with a wide variety of sectors, including business and industry; nonprofit; academia and philanthropic foundations; and federal, state and local government, both in the U.S. and globally. He has been building educational coalitions and partnerships for more than four decades. Recent

Mr. Blandin has been working to educate and protect investors through such programs as the Elder Investment Fraud and Financial Exploitation Prevention Program (EIFFE Prevention Program), the When I’m 65 public television documentary and multi-year engagement program, The Basics of Saving and Investing: Investor Education 2020 educators teaching guide; the multi-State DASH for the STASH investor education and protection program and contest; the Financial Field Manual for Military Families; the national Investor Education in Your Community® program; the national MoneyTrack public television series; and The Campaign for Wise and Safe Investing® in partnership with the AARP Foundation.

Recent awards bestowed on him include the BBB International Torch Award for Consumer Leadership from the Council of Better Business Bureaus and the Heart of Financial Planning Award from the Financial Planning Association. Mr. Blandin was appointed a delegate to both the 1998 and 2002 White House/Congressional National Summits on Retirement Savings, hosted by the President and Congressional leaders. He is a founding member and the first national director of Pi Alpha Alpha, the national honorary society for public administration.

Mr. Blandin holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from California State University, East Bay, and a Master of Public Administration degree from The American University in Washington, DC.

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Media Appearances (5)

IPT President and CEO Don Blandin said: “Shonita Bossier has exactly the right kind of background that the Trust needs as it continues to scale up its elderly financial fraud efforts in 2016. We look forward to benefiting from her insights and practical experience. Shonita’s story is a perfect illustration of the importance for U.S. investors of having the right people in place at the state level to look after their best interests.”...

Seeking solutions to bulging student loan debt

Chicago Tribuneonline

2015-10-05

"Many older Americans will remember the struggle to pay off their college loan debts, but those amounts owed in past years look insignificant against the skyrocketing debt that many graduates leave school with today," said Don Blandin, president and chief executive of the Investor Protection Institute...

In your 20s? Don’t squander your biggest financial asset: time

Don Blandin, chief executive of the IPI, said the survey results should reinforce advice often given to young adults to save as early as possible.

“I know we sound like a broken record, playing this message over and over again,” Blandin said in an interview.

Then he thought of the audience and said: “No, wait, guess that would be we sound like a damaged vinyl that is back in style. But what we want to do is help them learn that it’s so important to start early.”...

Millennials Crushed By Debt Delay Saving For Retirement

Forbesonline

2015-09-18

“Saving and investing for your retirement should not be viewed as optional, said Don Blandin, president and CEO of the Investor Protection Institute. “These are the years that will make the difference between comfortable and lean golden years.”...

The Color of Money: Calculating the ‘replacement rate’

The Washington Postonline

2013-12-31

“You need to look at your own situation, with help if you need it. And then totally own what you commit to do for your and your family’s financial security today and in the future,” says Don M. Blandin, president and chief executive of the Investor Protection Trust, a nonprofit organization that provides investor education.

You’ve got to do the calculations, making the best-informed estimates you can and understanding that you don’t know how long you are going to live. We can estimate the rate of inflation, but we don’t know for sure what it will be over the length of retirement, which might span 30 years or more...